


When Words Fail

by Misty_Reeyus



Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: F/M, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2019-01-10 10:47:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12297624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Misty_Reeyus/pseuds/Misty_Reeyus
Summary: Spirits, why must a love confession be this hard?





	When Words Fail

**Author's Note:**

> written for [Yustelle Week](http://herestotheroadahead.tumblr.com/post/163702842866/proudly-announcing-our-first-ever) > Day 7: Reciprocation

“Okay, what’s going on with you?”

“Hm?” Estelle glances up from the cup of tea in her hand at Yuri’s sudden question, blinks at him several times in an attempt to refocus herself. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, something’s up. It’s written all over your face.” Yuri sets his half-eaten cookie back down onto his plate and stares at her pointedly from his position next to her on the couch. “You’ve been distracted ever since I came through your door. I didn’t wanna bring it up at first, but whatever it is, it’s clearly still bothering you.”

Estelle flushes, caught red-handed. She’s never been terribly hard to read, and Yuri’s not the type to just let things lie when he’s concerned for a friend.

“…You’re right.” Her heart racing, Estelle sets her cup down on the coffee table before forcing herself to meet his gaze. “I’ve…been meaning to tell you something.”

She was waiting for the right moment to say it; she served him tea and cookies to buy herself time while she mentally prepared herself. Even now, Estelle doesn’t exactly feel ready—but with Yuri confronting her directly, clearly waiting for her to explain, she can’t put it off anymore.

_Spirits_ , why must a love confession be this hard? 

Estelle wrote a script for this. About a month ago, when she’d first properly realized that her love for Yuri extended into the romantic, she temporarily shoved aside her manuscript to instead spend three afternoons drafting up a speech, which she then revised at least a dozen times over the next few weeks. She wanted to tell him in person the next time they met, in a way that was poetic but genuine, and that would make her feelings clear without forcing them upon him. Honestly, Estelle didn’t have high hopes for her affections being returned, but once it finally hit her, she knew she had to let him know.

But now that Estelle is facing Yuri head on, her mind draws a complete blank. All the words that she’d painstakingly reviewed and memorized suddenly seem so practiced, so fake, so unworthy of being said. The whole speech catches in her throat, and she doesn’t even realize that her tongue is moving—practically independent of her brain—until she’s already blurted out a whole sentence.

“I love you!”

Estelle instantly flushes hot, because that was far, far from eloquent, but now Yuri’s blinking at her with absolutely zero comprehension in his face, so she finds herself rambling on, “Um, t-to be clear, I mean that as…as in, I really really want to kiss you on your mouth.”

…And now Estelle feels a lot like kicking herself.

“I mean…Yuri, I love you, and you’re my friend, and you’re important to me, and I don’t want that to change if you don’t like me back in that way, but I…” Well since she’s already made an utter fool of herself, might as well go out with a whimper. Estelle evades his gaze by glancing down at her hands that lie folded in her lap and finishes, very quietly, “I just wanted you to know.”

Estelle sucks in a breath and holds it, squeezing her eyes shut as humiliation burns in the pit of her stomach. She’s said her piece but now neither of them is saying anything at all, and the silence weighs down mercilessly on her shoulders. Her every muscle is tense, her whole body coils in on itself like spring primed for release as she sits and waits for Yuri to give some response, any response.

Eventually, a hand touches her cheek.

Yuri shifts on the couch beside her, and Estelle finally hazards a look up as he inches closer. There’s something _fervent_ about his gaze that locks Estelle in, freezes her in place as his other hand comes up too, grasping her by the other side of her face. His touch is gentle but firm and Estelle doesn’t have the chance to fully process what’s happening before he’s already leaning in, touching his lips to hers.

It’s…soft, and uncertain, and strange. Estelle has had fantasies about it since she was a little girl, but she’s never actually been kissed by anyone before. Yuri’s lips are slightly chapped but not unpleasant, and he tastes like cinnamon from the cookies, and his mouth moves against hers in caresses that she clumsily does her best to reciprocate. A haze envelops her and she shuts her eyes, sucks lightly at his bottom lip until finally, she has to yank back to catch her breath.

Her lips tingle, and Estelle touches her fingers to them almost mindlessly. Her mind races, unable to process what just happened.

“For what it’s worth,” Yuri gasps, after a while of her just staring at him in stunned silence, “I really want to kiss you on your mouth, too.”

He grins wide, his whole countenance so obviously and overwhelmingly _relieved_ , and it strikes Estelle in an instant that Yuri has probably wanted to do that for a long time. Maybe even longer than she did.

Estelle moves before she can even think to do so, tackling him back onto the couch cushions as her arms curl around him in a tight embrace. The noise that escapes him next is almost deliriously happy, and as Yuri shakes with laughter against her, she buries her face in his shirt to let it soak up the happy tears forming in the corners of her eyes. After a minute, Estelle pushes herself up on her arms, then dips her head back down until she’s nose-to-nose with Yuri.

“You wanna go again?” Yuri asks, his eyes sparkling like stars.

Estelle’s only answer is to capture his lips with her own.


End file.
